The Differential Impact of Partial Sleep Deprivation on Specific Aspects of Positive and Negative Affect Among Healthy Adults

Abstract

The present study investigated the impact of sleep deprivation on positive and negative affective functioning in healthy adult participants (N = 51). Participants completed the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) under conditions of rest and sleep deprivation (habitual sleep time nightly for seven consecutive nights, followed by three consecutive nights with 2 hours less sleep time). Lower positive affect was observed when participants were sleep-deprived compared to rested. This effect held for 7 out of the 10 positive affect items on the PANAS, as well as for total positive affect. Further, Cohen's effect size values were small to large (d > 0.20) for 9 out of the 10 positive affect items on the PANAS. A large effect size for total positive affect was observed (d = 0.85). No change in negative affect existed when participants were sleep-deprived compared to rested. However, a small effect size (d > 0.20) was found for 7 out of the 10 negative affect items on the PANAS. These results both extend and support previous research underscoring the associations between sleep deprivation and affective functioning; however, further studies with larger samples should be conducted to validate the results.